March Madness: 3 things to know about Kansas, St. John's second-round opponent
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: Darryn Peterson #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks in action during the second half of the game against the California Baptist Lancers in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 20, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images/Sean M. Haffey
SAN DIEGO — St. John’s is pitted against Kansas at 5:15 p.m. Sunday in an NCAA Tournament East Regional second-round game at Viejas Arena for a spot in the Sweet 16. The No. 5-seeded Red Storm (29-6) and No. 4 Jayhawks (24-10) last played in the first event at Long Island’s UBS Arena with the Jayhawks posting a 20-point win in December 2021. The programs’ last tournament meeting was in the 1952 national title game, also won by Kansas.
Here are three things to know about the current Jayhawks that St. John’s is about to clash with:
1. They didn’t finish strong
The Jayhawks come in after going 5-5 in their past 10 games. They advanced Friday with a 68-60 win over No. 13 California Baptist in which they saw a 22-point lead with 8:54 left whittled to six with 1:20 to play and pulled out the fifth of those wins. This final stretch includes losses to mediocre Cincinnati and poor Arizona State. Earlier in the season, Kansas had wins over powerhouses Arizona, Houston, Iowa State and Texas Tech.
2. They may have the No.1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft
Freshman phenom Darryn Peterson is in the running for the top selection as he is averaging 20.1 points in 28.7 minutes and is shooting 38.2% on three-point attempts. He’s also enigmatic, having missed 10 games with the latest explanation given being “traumatic” full-body cramping. He also has grown unassertive in games with big leads like Fridays when the Lancers staged a late-game comeback. Peterson was scoreless with only one field-goal attempt over the final five minutes on Friday.
3. Kansas is just as big, athletic and elite defensively as St. John’s
It ranks eighth in the nation in defensive efficiency and second in effective defensive field goal percentage, according to Kenpom.com. It also averages 5.7 blocked shots, sixth-best in the county. With 6-10 Flory Bidunga, 6-11 Bryson Tiller and 7-foot Paul Mbiya off the bench, Kansas has as daunting a frontline as the Storm.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
